


Detention

by distractionpie



Series: Band Of Brothers Week [1]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Detention, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 13:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9823505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distractionpie/pseuds/distractionpie
Summary: David had never been in detention before. The experience isn't quite what he expected.(Band of Brothers Week Day 1 - Alternate Universe)





	

David had never been in detention before. 

He'd never been in much trouble at all in the four years he'd been attending Hogwarts. Oh, he'd had a few house points docked here and there for his habitual tardiness, but for the most part the professors were happy to let it be at that. He was a quiet, studious sort - no one ever expressed any surprise that he had been sorted into Ravenclaw - and had secured a label as somebody who was disinclined to get into trouble. 

Sneaking into the restricted section of the library was not, however, an infraction the even the most lenient of professors could overlook. The worst part was that he hadn't been caught in the halls out of hours, or in the restricted area without a pass. No, he'd been caught when his potions professor had spotted the fact that he'd cited a restricted text in his essay. 

So now he's stuck passing the next six Saturday afternoons cleaning out cauldrons by hand and preparing potions ingredients for the stock-cupboard. It's hardly ideal, but he'd figured it could be worse. Normally he spent his weekends in a solitary fashion with a stack of library books, spending them in a solitary fashion doing menial work under the supervision of one of his favourite professors was bearable. 

But when he'd arrived he'd found that Professor Marsh was not alone. Instead he was accompanied by a young man that David recognised vaguely as being on the Hufflepuff quidditch team. Marsh had announced that he had more important things to be doing than overseeing a detention comprised of one of his best students and his most recurring visitor. "Liebgott," he'd said, and David recognised the name, one of the Hufflepuff beaters, "You're in charge. You know what I expect, get the ingredient prepped and the cauldrons cleaned. You have two hours and if everything isn't up to scratch it'll be another detention for you." 

Liebgott had scowled and 'yessir'd him in the most sarcastic tone David had ever heard, and just like that Marsh had been gone. 

David hadn't really known what to expect from detention but surely it wasn't normally so open ended at this. "Is.... is he always like that with detentions?" 

"What you've never had one before?" Liebgott said scathingly. He sounded like he didn't believe that that was true, and after a moment’s thought David decided not to correct him. Liebgott seemed like the type to be in trouble often and not likely to be impressed by David's squeaky clean record. 

"So what does Professor Marsh usually want done to the ingredients?" he asks instead, but Liebgott just shakes his head. 

"Nothing he'd want some clueless third year doing," Liebgott says disdainfully. "You just clean cauldrons." 

"I'm in fourth year," David corrects, sounding petulant even to his own ears. "And I'm good at potions." 

"Oh yeah?" Liebgott says disbelievingly. "What are you in for then?" 

"Sneaking into the restricted section," David admits, a little proud of his adventure even if he had been caught. "You?" 

"Mind your own business." 

Liebgott's scowl is sufficiently fierce that David makes his way over to the stack of dirty cauldrons without further defence of his potions skills. 

He scrubs for about twenty minutes, pointedly not even bothering to look in the direction of the tables where Liebgott is skinning boomslangs, until out of nowhere Liebgott says, "What were you doing in the restricted section anyway?" 

For a moment David considers ignoring him, he is that petty but scrubbing in silence is boring. "We had an essay on poisons, and all of the really in-depth books on poison are in there. Professor Marsh did say reading around the assigned topic would be good preparation for the O.W.Ls." 

"O.W.Ls are piss easy, you don’t need to do any extra work for them," Liebgott says dismissively. "I managed to pass and get into N.E.W.T potions and I blow up cauldrons." 

"Is that what you're in here for?" Webster asks, forgetting momentarily that Liebgott had already dismissed the question once. “Blowing up a cauldron?” 

To his surprise Liebgott doesn't snap again, just shrugs and says, "Yeah. It happens a lot. Marsh keeps telling me to stop getting experimental and just follow the instructions in the textbook but the textbook methods are dumb. You definitely _could_ make a reinvigorating draught in half the time by turning up the heat, it only caught fire because Luz distracted me." 

Webster knew George Luz, the Gryffindor sixth year and quidditch commentator, and the only part of Joe's tale that Webster found hard to believe was that Luz was taking potions. He hardly seemed like he’d have the patience. Well, that and the part about textbooks being dumb, if an idea weren't any good surely it wouldn't have made it to print. That's another thing that he thinks it might be better not to say aloud. He turns back to scrubbing, but only gets two more done before Liebgott says, "You know those have to be clean, right? You can't just get them a bit wet and soapy and call it done." 

David scowls. "They _are_ clean." 

"Oh yeah? That fast without a single charm?" Liebgott says sceptically. 

"My parents are muggles," David confesses. "I learned how to clean without a house elf or spells when I was a kid." 

He's expecting Liebgott to pick at him further but the older boy just shrugs. "Okay, when you're done with those you can come over here and start shredding the skins once I've cut them. It'll be for the first years so they don't need to be perfect- it's just they only have a single period, so no time to waste fucking up ingredient prep." 

David nods obediently, rinsing out another cauldron. There's just over half a dozen more to do and he works even faster now, determined to prove a silent point to Liebgott. 

Finally, where they're all stacked neatly again and air drying, he makes his way over to the table Liebgott is working. He grabs a second knife and starts shredding the pile of skins that Liebgott has accrued, but after a few minutes he can't help asking, "Why were you making a reinvigorating draught in a N.E.W.T class anyway? That's second year stuff." 

"Complex poisons and combined antidotes," Liebgott explains. "We were applying Golpalott's third law even though - hey no!" 

He puts his knife down and moves suddenly, stepping up behind David and grabbing his wrist, twisting it until David's knife is angled diagonally at the boomslang skins. "Like this. It's faster and safer. Marsh would kill me if I let you cut your fingers off." 

He guides Webster's hand through the slicing of the rest of the skin he was working on, then pulls another one over and repeats the process. Webster can feel his chest tightening - no doubt with the indignity of needing to be shown how to do something he'd said he was capable of. Liebgott's method is faster though. 

"You got it?" His breath is warm against David's face and David ducks away, nodding sharply. 

"Yeah, I... it's easy," Webster says, furiously embarrassed. What does it even matter what Liebgott thinks of his chopping skills? He doesn't know, and he doesn't want to think about it. "What were you saying about Golpalott's third law?" 

"Oh right... so it's totally fucking flawed when it comes to poisons made with non-traditional brewing techniques-" 

Liebgott's explanation of all the flaws he's found with the third law circles round into a critique of the first and second laws, and since the essay David ended up in detention for researching too well was on the first law it turns into quite the debate. He's just pointing out that Liebgott's theory on the way the first law applies to healing potions is baseless conjecture when the door bangs open and David startles so hard that despite the improved knife technique Liebgott has shown him he nearly takes one of his own fingertips off as Professor Marsh walks back into the room. 

David looks his watch in confusion. Had two hours passed already? They hadn't even finished skinning the boomslangs, let alone shredding the skins. Would they be in trouble for that? Marsh had said it would be extra punishment for Liebgott if this one was performed poorly, which seems unfair because David is pretty sure that if anything was slowing them down it was him. 

Professor Marsh looked over their works thoughtfully. "Good job boys," he says finally, "If you keep this up I might have to cut your detentions down to four weeks for lack of extra work for you do." 

Liebgott grins, looking triumphant and Webster nods, but finds surprisingly that mixed in with the bubbling satisfaction that always came with praise from a teacher there's a twinge of disappointment in his stomach. Liebgott had been an interesting conversationalist once he'd got doing, and offered the kind of practical potions tips that they never learned in class, he'd kind of been looking forward to another six weeks of this. 

Then again, Liebgott had said he was in detention a lot, and David figures he's more than overdue some teenage rebellion.  


End file.
